All of the above conspired to hinder us — both financially and logistically — in providing the help we had promised Frankie.

In the meantime Frankie has been waiting patiently in her foster home, but the foster parents are now reporting some worrying observations. There seems to be a problem developing with kitty’s front right leg. This could be due to the fact that her front legs are supporting — and possibly being overloaded by — her weight, which her hind legs are not managing to carry. We don’t know.

Tomorrow Frankie has an appointment with the surgical orthopedic vet team and we have promised her that this will be her week.

UPDATE | November 16, 2017

Our baby has now had her appointment with the vet team and our worry was confirmed. Indeed the kitten’s front legs are being heavily overloaded because of the hind legs not working. Frankie is in pain when walking so in addition she has started to avoid it, which in turn leads to joint stiffness and to sum it all up she is one miserable little cat.

Frankie’s first operation is booked for next week. Stay with her through this ordeal, she will need you.

Witness our baby favoring her front right leg and literally crying from discomfort in the video below. She has now been prescribed pain control medication.

We have secured the minimum required funds to start the series of surgeries, but still need help if we are to cover the cost of the first one in full, and definitely in order to continue with the next. So if you meant to help but have not yet gotten around to it, please do so now because it matters.

UPDATE | November 30, 2017

Frankie’s fist surgery has been a success!

The initial step in fixing the kitten’s back-to-front legs has been successful — the operation has released the muscles holding the joints in an unnatural position, and has installed external fixation devices to realign the legs.

Frankie is quite shaken but is recovering well. We keep telling her we love her so much and we will not abandon her until she can run like the wind.

She has been released from the clinic and the first photos we received from her foster parents touched us deeply. Having spent her entire innocent life in pain and discomfort, dragging her uncooperative wrong legs behind, little baby Frankie can now stand up on her own!

And this is only the beginning.

Thank you for making Frankie’s FIRST STEP possible! Please stay with her for the next.

UPDATE | January 16, 2018

After losing Peanut we lost our way for a while, our hope faltered, our strength diminished..

Then during the last few days a furkid we rescued months ago, rescued us in turn, reminding us of the reasons we were here, and what our being here meant to all the souls we did succeed in helping.

We wanted to share this incredible, encouraging, uplifting video of Frankie’s incredible transformation with you — you who fight shoulder to shoulder with us, you who laugh and cry with us, and you who over and over give us the strength to go on.

Click the video below to see what ours and your being here means for Frankie today.

Not that long ago Frankie’s congenital neuro-muscular problem, which had caused hyper-extension of the joints and pulled her legs around so that she was dragging them while stepping on her knees, was a death sentence for the little stray as she could not have survived on the streets. Then in November the first of a series of surgeries released the twisted muscles and installed the external positional fixation, which you have just seen in the video supporting Frankie’s hind legs and allowing her to be a happy kitten for the first time in her life.

This coming Thursday the senior orthopedic surgeon of our clinic will proceed with the next in the series of operations that will fix Frankie’s wrong legs. The surgeon will remove the external fixation devices and will perform arthrodesis to provide further stabilization.

Stay with us for updates and thank you for being here.

UPDATE | April 13, 2018

Frankie’s both legs have now been freed from the external fixation devices! She is being monitored every few weeks by her vet team, who will determine if further surgeries will be needed. The aim now is for her newly re-positioned legs to hold, and not revert back to their crooked angles or sag because of weak muscles.

Watch Frankie walk with no wires attached to her legs in the short video below, and stay with her to help her story reach its happy ending.

UPDATE | May 15, 2018

It’s been almost exactly one month since we share the great news of Frankie being freed from the second external fixation device.

Sadly, a month later our worst fears are coming true — Frankie’s legs are not holding. Because of the affliction she was born with, kitty has not developed the muscles, needed for her legs to work correctly. A month of observation is now showing that her right hind leg is unfortunately not managing to bear her weight and is starting to fold and give in, failing to support her. If left unattended, this  leg may eventually revert back to its original, unnatural crooked position and turn backwards.

Please watch these two very short videos to understand the problem and why it is critical that we address it asap. Watch the leg giving in and folding inwards, the heel not supporting the weight and falling nearly parallel to the ground, and see Frankie favoring and starting to drag the leg behind her.

As much as we had hoped that Frankie could get away without the need for more operations, she can’t. She is scheduled for another surgery, and it has to happen soon — we are hoping it can be performed on Friday as per the senior orthopedic surgeon recommendation.

Another arthrodesis will secure the joint in a fixed position. Frankie will lose some range of motion in the joint — but she will keep the leg and she will keep on walking.

We absolutely dislike the idea of more operations for kitty because she is such a scaredy cat and her trust is so delicate. It has taken her literally months to climb out of her shell and relax around her foster buddies; she is still wary of humans. But.. she has to get the surgery or she will revert to being a crippled, hobbling, sad critter, and we can’t allow that.

UPDATE | May 20, 2018

Great news!

The operation was successful, although more complicated than the senior orthopedic vet of our clinic expected. During the operation the vet team discovered severe degenerative changes in the joint cartilage, so a full pantarsal arthrodesis — and not a partial one as planned — was performed. The next few weeks will be critical until the bone fusion is secure and stable.

After resting for a while and spending some time under observation in the clinic, Frankie has now been discharged back to her foster home.

She seems very happy for having finally left the little cubicle in the clinic, and seems more relaxed in her foster home than before the surgery. She has not hidden even once under anything at all, and seems to enjoy spending more time on top of, rather than under, the furniture.

We will continue to provide the veterinary care Frankie needs. We are battling to cover her significant medical bills however, so if you can please donate today.

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* Let’s Adopt! Global is a 501c3 charity and your donation is tax deductible. All funds will go towards the animal’s care. Any remaining funds will go to support our other rescues and mission.